38 weeks shouldn't feel like "overdue"...

...but unfortunately it does. I guess I can't say that because I've never actually made it all the way to 40 weeks, and I'm not really qualified to know what "overdue" feels like, however, I know what "I'm DONE being pregnant feels like!". It's amazing how quickly you can go from spending so much energy worrying about the baby coming early to spending so much energy wishing it would happen, like, now. I think my anticipation may have something to do with the fact that I finally am getting the last minute baby things done, so I feel like now that my checklist is getting accomplished that it's the baby's turn to checkout.
One thing is "checking out", though- that stupid clot! I thought I was passing the mucus plug...which I may have passed as well, this last weekend, but I have also been saying goodbye and good riddance to one of the unwelcome and long overstayed guests in my baby's home these last 6 1/2 months (the cyst being the other unwelcome visitor, but that one won't be out until the baby is). My doctor said that once I start dilating I would probably finish passing the clot, but that as long as it was dark (just like last time) than it would be okay. I really have no idea how much of it is left, but I guess it will just keep passing it until the baby comes. I'm hoping that means I'm past 2 cm dilated, though. My doctor's schedule has been really busy, so even though tomorrow is a week since my last appointment, Friday is my next scheduled visit, so if I haven't gone by then, I'll find out how much I've progressed at that point.
Anyway. Enjoy my fat 9 month picture! I won't show you the other ones Craig took of me from an ant's view- I'm like preg-zilla in those. I've never been very good at getting good "growing" pictures during pregnancy, but we always manage to get one when I'm huge at the very end! Because that's what I want to remember, right? :-) Also, I'm sworn to secrecy upon my immediate death if I break trust, but Craig and I sat down and narrowed down a few names that we like finally last night, boy and girl. Is it weird that I always feel like someone is asking me a really personal question when they ask if we have any names picked out? Especially when I don't know them well. I know I am one of the few who feels this way, but both Craig and I felt like with all of our pregnancies that a lot of people sort of give it all away before the baby is even born, and then all you're really finding out at the end is how much they weighed and how long they were when they came out. But I can also see, I guess, how knowing the gender and name and everything would help you connect more to the baby during pregnancy. Maybe we just like surprises. In any case, if you ask me, I'll give you a vague, non-definite answer, but there are names that we like, you'll just have to find out what we decided once the baby comes (and honestly, we don't really decide until it comes, we found that we think one thing beforehand and then think something completely different afterwards...). My contractions have been getting stronger...well, more like my strong contractions are coming more frequently, but I get so busy sometimes that I don't keep very careful track. Which to me just reminds me that I'm not ready yet, otherwise those contractions would be strong enough to prevent me from being busy. I've gone nesting crazy, but my energy level is also zapping away quickly, so my projects around the house are getting smaller as I go along. I've been using the bathroom about every hour-hour and a half, and it's getting tiring feeling like I'm about ready to wet myself urgently, and then I rush to the bathroom to just tinkle out a little tiny bit. This baby must be squishing the heck out of my bladder. All the furniture is up in the baby room (sorry, still haven't got good pictures yet...), I just need to go buy some darkening material and hem the curtains that I have for the window and it will be done in there. I was going to go out this morning with the kids to pick up the material and maybe a few small canvasses for painting some cute things to hang up in the room, but I started passing the clot a little more heavily and I had a sudden image flash through my head of my waters breaking with both of the kids with me in the isle at Jo-Annes...so I decided to play it low today and just let Craig help me with that later. We also packed my bag and cleaned out the baby carseat yesterday. We're not sure where to put it though- anyone out there with a Honda Pilot and three kids in carseats have any good advice on where to put the kids? No matter where we put them, it's going to be inconvenient for getting at least one of them in on a regular basis. Oh well, we'll figure it out I'm sure.
If I'm lucky, my next post will be loaded with akward mommy-in-a-hospital-robe-completely-exhausted-and/or-drugged-with-naked-pink-baby photos! ....but I probably just jinxed myself by saying that, so don't count on it...